About the High Line

The High Line is a new public park, built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street. The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009. The High Line is property of the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by the non-profit Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

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A bell in Herald Square recorded for A Bell for Every Minute, courtesy the artist and Creative Time

Details for a major new art installation, going in on the High Line this summer, have been finalized.

Building on the success of Spencer Finch’s installation in the Chelsea Market Passage, we’re once again partnering with public art superstars Creative Time and the public art wing of the Parks Department. This time, we commissioned a site-specific multi-channel sound piece from artist Stephen Vitiello, entitled A Bell for Every Minute. The piece will be installed in the 14th Street Passage, another semi-enclosed space where the High Line runs through a former industrial building.

571 Projects in Chelsea is now showing a High Line-inspired work by artist Jan Gilbert. The New Orleans native makes her debut in New York with a piece entitled Sur la ligne/On the line. In the gallery’s press release, Gilbert states that the High Line “serves as a superb viewing pedestal of this vibrant, quirky, industrial layer of the city.” Her photographic works combine multiple perspectives on views from the High Line, and the images are embalmed in a transparent membrane.

Artist Spencer Finch was profiled on Thirteen’s Sunday Arts Profile last weekend. His installation The River That Flows Both Ways is the first major artwork on the High Line, and was commissioned in partnership with Creative Time and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

This weekend, the New York Times ran a profile of international architectural photographer Iwan Baan. Iwan took a beautiful series of High Line photos in our first season, and we agree that there’s something groundbreaking about his style. Fred Bernstein of the Times writes:

Mr. Baan sees buildings as backdrops for his photographs of people, he said during a recent visit to New York. Looking at a picture of the new Cooper Union building in the East Village, designed by Mr. Mayne, Mr. Baan said, “It’s about the woman shuffling down the street.” His work owes as much to Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson as to Julius Shulman or Ezra Stoller, the pre-eminent architectural photographers of the late 20th century.

A rendering of the view through the viewing screen, part of a new work by Richard Galpin, courtesy of the artist.

We’re pleased to announce an upcoming piece in our High Line Art program, an ongoing series of commissions and collaborations. This May, a new work entitled Viewing Station will debut by artist Richard Galpin, who is best known for his altered and abstract photographs of cityscapes.

For the High Line, Galpin will create a “viewing station” that will provide a manipulated view of the High Line’s surroundings, recalling the artist’s abstract photographic work. Park visitors will look through a viewing apparatus lined up with a metal screen from which geometric shapes have been cut. One of the wonderful experiences the High Line has provided to visitors is a new vista of Manhattan. Galpin’s artwork will offer a novel reconsideration of our surroundings.

This High Line Art Commission is presented by Friends of the High Line and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. High Line Art Commissions are made possible by Donald R. Mullen, Jr.

2009 has been a remarkable year for the High Line. After spending the spring working on the final stages of construction, we opened the first section of the park in June. Since then, we estimate that nearly 2 million people have visited. We hope you were among these first visitors to the High Line, and that you return again and again in 2010.

The High Line’s first year as a public park has been truly amazing. We’ve pulled together some of our favorite pictures from this incredible, historic year. We hope you enjoy them!

Park visitors stroll and relax on the Diller – von Furstenberg Sundeck between 14th and 15th Streets. The Sundeck is one of the High Line’s most popular gathering spots, especially for sunbathers on bright summer days, and as a place to watch the sunset. Photo by Iwan Baan

“…The High Line is a hit, and not just with tourists but with New Yorkers who are openly relishing a place where they can reflect and relax enough to get a new perspective on Manhattan.”

We are proud to announce that the High Line has been bestowed with an award from the U.S. section of the International Association of Art Critics: First Prize for “Best Show in a Public Space.” I have the honor of accepting this award at a reception at the Guggenheim Museum, alongside esteemed colleagues. A complete list of awardees is here (PDF). Thank you AICA USA!